11 OCT 2017 ESTABLISHED 1966 VOLUME 52 NO. 3 retrieverweekly.umbc.edu · @retrieverumbc
Professor awarded $1.5 million grant By EDISON LOPEZ
UMBC’s very own Gymama Slaughter, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, was recently awarded a $1.5 million research grant by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command to develop bioreactors that will extend the viability of organs after they’ve been harvested for transplant, giving doctors an adequate amount of time to conduct successful transplants. In an interview, Slaughter discussed the short time-frame surgeons face when conducting organ transplants. When organs are harvested, doctors typically have under 24 hours to get the organs from the harvest site to the transplant site and successfully carry out the transplant. By that point, organs may have deteriorated to a point where they can no longer be used for a transplant. Slaughter hopes that the development of these bioreactors, if successful, will be able to extend the time-frame from 24 hours to 72 hours, giving doctors a sufficient amount of time to be able to fully organize the transplant and successfully carry out the procedure. Continued on page 3
Puerto Rican student, Claudia Lopez, sits at the table above raising money and collecting supplies to send to the people back home. Photo courtesy of Claudia Lopez.
Over $7,000 raised for Puerto Rico by UMBC student By TAHSIN KHAN Claudia Lopez sits by herself at a table outside the Commons collecting donations for U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Maria. Lopez, a Puerto Rican senior majoring in biology and psychology, initiated her fundraiser, Project PRdise, to aid the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico. Part of Project PRdise is a GoFundMe page, which is currently a trending fundraiser. Over the span of 15 days, Lopez has raised $7,681 of her $10,000 goal. 64 people have donated through the GoFundMe site with the highest single donation at $1000. Once she reaches her goal, she plans to raise the target amount even higher. Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, Sept. 20 as a category five storm. As of Oct. 8, the death toll from Maria is at 36, but Puerto Rican authorities speculate the final number could be significantly higher.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Lopez decided to start the fundraiser in order to help alleviate the hurricane-related hardships of her family, friends and fellow Puerto Ricans. Talking to her family and watching the news, Lopez was shocked and heartbroken by the complete destruction of her island. “I felt useless … I never thought this could happen to my home,” she said. Some of Lopez’s maternal family lives in Humacao, the region in which the hurricane made landfall. No one was able to contact them for five days. The ocean had risen right into the neighborhoods and the 175 miles per hour winds had done significant damage to the entire infrastructure of the island. One of Lopez’s brothers goes to the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, the capital, but since the hurricane destroyed the majority of the buildings on campus, the university has been shut down indefinitely. Continued on page 19
Graduate student tackles disabilities with technology By EMILY PAUL For one UMBC student working on her dissertation in robotics, the grind never stops. Even when she is completing monumental tasks for others against the pressure of a crippling disease: spinal muscle atrophy. SMA is a degenerative disease that affects voluntary movement. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Spinal muscular atrophy is a genetic disorder that affects the control of muscle movement. It is caused by a loss of specialized nerve cells [motor neurons] ... in the spinal cord. In severe cases of spinal muscular atrophy, the muscles used for breathing and swallowing are affected.” Kavita Krishnaswamy, a user of assistive Kavita Krishnaswamy, touring UMBC via robot. Photo by Emily Paul. robotics, is an innovator in helping people with limited mobility like herself.
For her dissertation, Krishnaswamy is creating a pressurized mattress controlled by a track pad or by voice. It inflates at nine different spots to avoid bed sores and to allow pressure relief for users; specifically those who are disabled and may need aid to move. The dissertation is based off of an already existing tool; a mattress with nine inflatable chambers, but needs a caregiver to inflate and deflate each chamber. The thirty-five-year-old created this prototype by responding to a need in assistive robotics. While the field of assistive robotics is growing and adapting, most robots are only effective for those with moderate mobility. So Krishnaswamy, whose disease sapped her strength over time, designed the mattress to increase accessibility for those with extremely limited mobility. Krishnaswamy’s primary goal is to allow as much independence as possible for these individuals. And, like most user-friendly devices, she needs to ensure that her prototype will not cause harm to the user. Continued on page 2
OPINIONS pg. 4-6 ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT pg. 7-9 PHOTO GALLERY pg. 10-11 NEWS pg. 2-3 PUZZLES pg. 16 STUDENT LIFE pg. 17-19 CALENDAR pg. 20 SPORTS pg. 13-15
NEWS The Retriever
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11 OCT 2017 retrieverweekly.umbc.edu
UMBC launches program to address food security UMBC has recently launched Retriever Essentials, a partnership-based project aimed at combating food security in the university community. The program will allow students in need to have access to “healthy foods and other essential supplies” at zero cost. According to its website, the project was initially conceptualized in the summer of 2016 by Dr. Nancy Young, Vice President of Student Affairs, as well as a graduate student, a counselor and a campus minister, who all “had concerns that there are UMBC students struggling with food insecurity.” The group started to provide “free bags of non-perishable groceries to self-identified students through the counseling center.” As time passed, other students and staff members joined the group, and it eventually developed into a formal partnership between faculty, staff and students. The Retriever Essentials website also provides a list of statistics that support their concern for food security. Notably, in a survey of nearly 4,000 college students by the College and University Food Bank Alliance, 48 percent of respondents reported food insecurity, with 22 percent reporting very low levels of food insecurity. Among first-generation college students, 56 percent indicated food insecurity. Retriever Essentials has currently set up three ways for students in need to access food. Firstly, there are a number of food zones available in different locations on campus, located in areas including the Counseling Center, the Honors College, the Residential Life office and various areas in the Commons.
Students can drop by, fill out an anonymous form, and pick up items they need, including groceries or toiletries. Another initiative being piloted is the ability to “save a swipe” on UMBC’s red ID card. Students who have a meal plan can donate up to one meal swipe per week, or up to 16 meals per semester, which go into a shared pool of meals. The meals can then be claimed by other students at the dining hall. Additionally, there are several donation stations, including the Administration Building, the AOK Library, the Commons front desk and the RAC, where materials such as non-perishable food items and toiletries can be donated for later use in the food zones. Partnerships are also being made with local organizations to “help students address holistic supports off-campus and to meet their longer term needs.” “The only way we can effectively end food hunger on campus is through spreading awareness. We have an obligation to ensure that every student receives the food they deserve in order to enhance their chances of life and academic success” says Deveraux Smith, graduate student in applied sociology who has been chairing the Retriever Essentials’ effort. He added, “As a UMBC community, we have to embrace our unity and look at our fellow neighbor and say, ‘I am you and you are me; and together we can eliminate food insecurity.’”
By Dave Tandy
tandave1@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
Robots to aid those with disabilities From page 1
“More work is needed in safety and robotics; it needs to recognize when someone is in danger, as a robot is not intelligent,” she said. For assistive robotics, technology needs to be designed with a safe range of mobility, otherwise the user could be harmed. This dilemma then creates the need for artificial intelligence technology, an entire other level of computing and design. “The more ways people with the barest, smallest movement can express their input through technology, is an advancement,” explained Krishnaswamy. She added that thinking outside the box is necessary in order for these projects to be born, for needs to be met, and ultimately so those who need this aid can receive it. While she has always had a brain
for maths and sciences, being a member of special achievement clubs in high school, her first brush with robotics came when she entered a statewide competition. She submitted a robot she designed via computer which she had her younger brothers build. Her passion blossomed into a career path and a dissertation proposal, of which she is now working on. Krishnaswamy is working with an engineering group of UMBC students, but is always in need of volunteers during the development of the prototype. Prospective workers can contact her via email (kavi1@umbc.edu) or through her website.
By Emily Paul
empaul1@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
Vigil for the victims of the Vegas massacre. Photo courtesy of C. Mendoza, Wikimedia Commons.
Recent shootings spark debate on gun control The debate on gun control has been reignited by what is now the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. On October 1, Stephen Paddock fired an automatic weapon into a crowd of thousands of people attending a country music festival in Las Vegas. Fifty-eight people were killed and at least 489 injured. Paddock died from a self-inflicted gunwound before he could be taken into custody. The shooter, a retired accountant and avid gambler, was described as “disturbed and dangerous” by Joseph Lombardo, the Las Vegas sheriff, during a news briefing on the shooting. “Stephen Paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood. Anything that would indicate this individual’s trigger point and would cause him to do such harm, we haven’t understood it yet.” In response to the shooting in Las Vegas, UMBC released a statement which read: “We are deeply saddened by the senseless and horrific mass shooting that took so many innocent lives last night in Las Vegas. The UMBC community offers our deepest condolences for all of those affected by this tragedy, including the hundreds of people who were also wounded in the attack.” Gun violence is not a new issue in the country. Research by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows that the U.S. had 3.85 deaths due to gun violence per 100,000 people in 2016. According to the Pew Research Center, 42 percent of the Americans surveyed live in a household with a gun, and 44 percent say they personally know someone who has been shot. Pew also stated that gun owners are more likely than non-gun owners to know someone
who has been shot (51 percent vs. 40 percent of non-owners). On June 14, 2017 Congressman Steve S calise was shot by James T. Hodgkinson, who according to the Washington Post, was “an unemployed 66-year-old Illinois man who had expressed public malice toward Republicans.” Despite his injury, Scalise held fast to his beliefs on gun control even after the Las Vegas shooting, stating in a recent interview with the Washington Post that “anybody that wants to say, ‘Okay, somehow the idea of taking away people’s guns is an answer to this’ . . . they don’t understand, number one, what the Second Amendment stands for and why it’s in our Bill of Rights.” The need to own assault weapons, the kind used by Stephen Paddock in Las Vegas, is another issue that has been subject for debate. Pew research asked gun owners and nongun owners their opinion on banning assault-style weapons, and found that 48 percent of gun owners support bans on assault-style weapons, while 77 percent of non-gun owners support bans. Freshman mechanical engineering major Ian Atkinson had strong opinions on the subject. “The main issue with gun control is that we have too many guns,” he said. “We need to change the laws to solve the problem and crack down on illegal firearms much harder.”
By Henry Ziperman hzip1@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
NEWS The Retriever
11 OCT 2017 @retrieverumbc
October 2 - Commons
POLICE LOG
Garage, Destruction of Property
October 6 - Walker Apartment, Possession of Marijuana
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October 3, Walker Apartment, Assault with Hands
October 4 - Patapsco Hall, Electronic Mail Misuse, Stalking
October 6 - The Commons, Hate Crime, Act of Intolerance
October 8 - Antietam/Terrace, Possession of Marijuana
Salsarita’s readjusts prices after student outrage After Salsarita’s recently raised prices for beans and rice on quesadillas and nachos, they have subsequently reverted back to not charging for extra for either. This followed a MyUMBC post that received over 140 paws and countless student comments voicing their opposition to the price hikes. “We met with our regional representative from Salsarita’s last week and worked through the issue with charging for rice and beans,” said Tom Deluca, resident district manager for Chartwells. “They have agreed to support us by including rice and beans on quesadilla’s and salads if the customer would like them.”
Baltimore Klansman charged in Charlosttesville shooting Richard Wilson Preston Jr., founder and imperial wizard of the Confederate White Knights of the KKK, is being detained in a Virginia jail, accused of shooting at an African-American counter-protester in the infamous white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville earlier this year. He has been charged with discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school – a felony. If convicted, he could serve up to 10 years in prison.
James Clapper gives presentation at UMBC
UMBC’s homecoming week, from October 5 to October 14, will be capped off by a performance from The Daily Show comedian Trevor Noah on Friday, October 13 at 9 p.m. Doors open at 8 p.m. According to the UMBC website, “ Tickets were $30 for students, $35 for alumni, faculty, staff, and the public, but have since sold out.” The event will take place in the RAC arena.
James Clapper, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence, gave a public lecture on Friday, October 6. Clapper was Director of Intelligence for President Obama from August 2010 to January 2017. The speech was from 12-1 in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building. Clapper set the tone of the speech early on in presentation, cracking a joke on the first slide which had his name and job title “James Clapper, Former Director of National Intelligence.” According to Karim Said on Twitter, Clapper joked, “My favorite part of this chart is the word ‘former’.”
Baltimore Beat
Speed camera makes it rain for city government
Trevor Noah to highlight homecoming week
Pumpkin spice single-handedly evacuates school
An odd smell permeating Cristo Rey Jesuit High School led to the evacuation of the school last Thursday. Several students and teachers reported difficulty breathing, and the fire department was brought in. No hazardous materials were found, but five people were taken to the hospital due to stomach ailments. After a search, the source of the smell proved to be a pumpkin spice scented aerosol plugin.
With the return of Baltimore’s speed camera program, one location in particular has proved to be the most lucrative. In the span of two months, the camera at the 1200 of S. Caton Ave. issued over 12,000 citations, which could generate about $500,000 for the city government. Before the system shut down in 2012, the same camera, in conjunction with another at the same street, brought in about $4.6 million in revenue from 2009 to 2012.
Research could help extend organ viability From page 1
Slaughter has been given a three-year timeline by the Department of Defense, in which she will develop bioreactors that will be able to assess the organs' bio-physical cues in real time and monitor certain biological markers. If the cues indicate that an organ could be deteriorating, they will begin to introduce nutrients that’ll extend the organs viability. Students involved in the research feel like this experience is incredibly rewarding. Ressa Reneth Sarrea, senior computer engineering student, said that “the research itself has been really fulfilling." She began working with Professor Slaughter under the supervision of one of her graduate students but has recently been given more independence. “Progress can be slow at times, but it’s the best feeling when something does go right, and that feeling reminds me that this work is leading somewhere that may help people out,” Ressa said in an email about the research. The project is still in the early stages of development. Professor Slaughter
says that currently, her main priority is working on the construction of the biosensors and a design for the bioreactor. She and her team hope to complete a prototype during the winter of 2017. Ressa and many of Slaughter’s other students working on the project say they feel themselves growing as researchers, and genuinely feel like they’re making a difference. “Professor Slaughter is a really great research mentor, she knows when to be more lenient and understanding and she knows when to be more critical and enforce higher expectations” said Ressa. Slaughter stated that her primary motivation for developing these bioreactors is to help injured soldiers and veterans. She hopes that with the development of her research veterans will be able to return to daily activities, reintegrate into society and go on to lead highly productive lives.
By Edison Lopez elopez1@umbc.edu Probationary Writer
Gymama Slaughter, professor of computer engineering, is working with students to develop a prototype that will extend organ viability. Photo by Katie Lee.
OPINIONS 4 Lack of price communication STAFF EDITORIAL The Retriever
UMBC has always existed as a small community. There is a mutual trust between students and staff to be respectful and understanding of one another. However, sometimes there are campus events that fail to showcase respect and transparency to the student body. “The Retriever” previously covered the sudden, unannounced price increase of certain items on Salsarita’s menu. The problem is less with the restaurant and more with the lack of communication between students and dining services of this change. Most did not know about the $1 price hike on some food items such as rice and beans until they saw a myUMBC post by Maxwell Poole, senior computer science, mathematics and economics major. Though Poole brought attention to the 25 percent increase in order to inform the student population, his actions unintentionally encouraged students to stop frequenting Salsarita’s, advocated for holding Chartwells accountable and inspired others to express their own dissatisfaction with UMBC’s vegetarian choices. Salsarita’s is a restaurant with multiple locations in Maryland. As stated on their website, “prices vary by location.” There
is no public information on how pricing works without contacting a representative, but it stands to reason that a franchise run by a company that specifically works with universities should lower its prices to a student-friendly level. Even Chipotle, a restaurant more well-known and with a higher standing, has burrito prices almost $0.20 less than UMBC’s on-campus Salsarita’s. These issues together paint a worrying picture. Students deserve to have advanced notice of any and all changes in their community, in everything from UMBC tuition price hikes to construction. The important distinction here is that those rises are preempted with emails from the university or large posted signs, respectively. “My main concern was that there was a hidden price increase,” Poole elaborated on his post in an interview, “Being more transparent ... would make the pill much easier to swallow … [being] open about your pricing structure should be the first thing that is done and not implemented after people raise a fuss.” Chartwells, the food service that handles many of the restaurants on campus, does not have any direct correspondence
with the student body. Because Chartwells’ partners interact with students every day, Chartwells itself should be communicating any changes or updates clearly and promptly. Poole suggested, “a post on myUMBC about the price increase … and an immediate update to their menu to reflect the price change” as the minimum level of action taken by the company, which would require very little time to perform. “The information that I wanted to get out got out,” Poole said when asked about the reception of his post, “and it put a reasonable level of pressure on Salsarita’s to change their pricing structure.” As of Oct. 9, according to Tom DeLuca, Resident District Manager, stated on myUMBC that after meeting with Salsarita’s regional representative, “[Salsarita’s has] agreed to support us by including rice and beans on quesadilla’s and salads if the customer would like them.” Student dissatisfaction ended up making a change and that is heartening. However, UMBC, as a public university, still needs to have full transparency with its students rather than simply being reactive.
A deeper look into comedian Trevor Noah Homecoming is upon us and with it comes the traditional comedy show put on by the Division of Student Affairs. This year, the featured comedian is Trevor Noah, host of Comedy Central’s popular satire and political comedy program, “The Daily Show.” Now this may seem an obvious choice for a college campus, as many are attracted to shows like these. However, is Trevor Noah all he seems to be? The most immediate issue one finds with Noah upon researching his history are certain disturbing comments found on his Twitter page. One tweet from 2011 reads, “‘Oh yeah the weekend. People are gonna get drunk & think that I’m sexy!’ - fat chicks everywhere.” To say the least, this is disturbing rhetoric coming from a man who claims to stand against the ‘intolerance’ of the Trump administration. His private tweets are not the only thing that ought to raise eyebrows. His conduct on his show, specifically regarding what he seeks to normalize, is also very showing. Take, for example, his roundtable on third parties that aired on August 18 of last year. Throughout the course of the program, the positions of the Libertarian and the Green parties were not even mentioned. They were circumvented in favor of simply repeatedly claiming that they could not win as they were not one of the two ‘legitimate’ parties in the race, and therefore did not deserve equal consideration. This is in stark contrast to the coverage afforded the Trump campaign, coverage which far exceeded any other campaign. If coverage was considered a product of legitimacy, this was just a roundabout way to present the platform of hate that was the cornerstone of President Trump’s campaign as normal and legitimate. This trend of normalizing far-right ideology that is rising in popularity seems
Trevor Noah, a comedian and host of a Comedy Central show, seems to go against UMBC’s values of tolerance, respect and community. Photo by Jaedon Huie.
to be a trend of Noah’s that has continued even after the election. Consider Noah’s interview with notable white supremacist Tomi Lahren that aired on November 30, 2016. In this interview Noah approaches Lahren’s position with tact and respect, allowing her to defend herself, and generally treating her position as one that can and should be given due consideration. Now, on the opposite side of the spectrum, on August 31 of this year, Noah discussed the rise of the Antifa movement. Far from giving them equal consideration or the respect he afforded Lahren, he merely plays clips he claims categorizes the wider antifascist movement. Aside from failing to even remotely explain the history or goals of antifascism in general, a political ideology that has existed since the 1930s, it reduces the entire movement to a caricature: a group of people who just like punching people. This sort of reduction and misrepresentation clearly shows that Trevor’s agenda is to maintain right-wing political momen-
tum. Ultimately, a critical analysis of Trevor Noah’s conduct as a comedian reveals that he has disturbingly ignorant and intolerant tendencies. Noah seems to be a tool of the political establishment and the very president he has repeatedly railed against. By mediating the approved tone and methodology of antifascists and activists whilst promoting that of nationalists and bigots, he pushes the overall American political dialectic to the right. Now, there is little one can do about this in regard to Noah’s upcoming show. Rather, the university simply ought to be more careful with whom they support. Instead of granting yet another platform to a comedian like Trevor Noah, the administration ought to be promoting smaller and more local comedians, who share and promote UMBC’s values of tolerance, respect and community.
By Nate Stewart n49@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
11 OCT 2017 retrieverweekly.umbc.edu
The Retriever welcomes your comments. Letters to the editor must be submitted before 5 p.m. Friday via e-mail to theretriever.umbc@ gmail.com or delivered to The Retriever office, UC 214. Please limit letters to 300 words and include your full name, year, and major. The Retriever retains the right to edit submissions for content and length. The Retriever staff editorials reflect the views of the editorial board; signed columns and advertisements represent the opinions of the individual writers and advertisers, respectively, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Retriever or the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The Retriever publishes every other week on Wednesdays during the regular school year. The Retriever is an equal opportunity employer.
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Retriever Editor-in-Chief Tahsin Khan tkhan3@umbc.edu Managing Editor Morgan Mullings m132@umbc.edu Faculty Advisor Chris Corbett corbett@umbc.edu
Production Staff Production Manager Nina Enagonio Production Assistants Fatomeh Oreizi-Esfahani Lauren Spielman
OPINIONS The Retriever
Is carpooling viable at UMBC? UMBC has long been considered a commuter campus. Almost 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled, only 1,500 of which are freshmen, and 25 percent of those freshmen commute. Adding to that total are the 1,800 faculty and staff that must drive from home to work every day. Many commuter students bemoan the lack of parking on campus. It can be almost impossible to get a parking spot within ten minutes walking distance of a class after nine a.m. This is no surprise, as Paul Dillon, the deputy chief of police for the university, reports only 7,247 parking spaces on campus. This number may seem large at first glance, but after subtracting parking for all 2,500 graduate students and every faculty and staff member, around 3,000 spots are left. These spots must be allocated between 11,000 undergraduate students, only some of which commute. However, as of now, there is no viable alternative to the self-driving commuter. Attempts by the university to introduce alternate modes of transportation are not in widespread use, keeping single-rider cars in the majority.
Editorial Staff News Editor Tyler Lewis tlewis5@umbc.edu Opinions Editor Anna Yaschenko anya3@umbc.edu Student Life Editor Carrie Cook ccook4@umbc.edu Arts & Entertainment Editor Meghan Allis mallis1@umbc.edu Sports Editor Elizabeth Jenkins xj15058@umbc.edu
Multimedia Staff Photo Manager Winston Zhou wz3@umbc.edu Copy Manager Breia Lassiter blass1@umbc.edu
Technology Staff Technology Manager Lin DasSarma sda1@umbc.edu
Advertising&BusinessStaff Business Manager Rhaj Gooden goo1@umbc.edu Advertising Manager Alexis Waver waver1@umbc.edu Public Relations Manager Bradley Ingram bradley.ingram@umbc.edu
As of now, it can be almost impossible to get a parking spot within ten minutes walking distance of a class after nine am at UMBC. Photo by Jaedon Huie.
Carpooling is one economically and environmentally healthy commuting plan. It has come into popularity in many workplace situations because of the way a full-time job operates. At work, everyone arrives at the same time and leaves at the same time. A university class structure is not conducive to carpooling. Linda Wiratan, a junior biochemistry major, is one of the students who commute but are not able to carpool. “It takes 50 minutes for me to drive to UMBC,” Linda said. “I can’t carpool because I … drive to UMBC at 6 a.m., [and] my classes also end very late, around 11 p.m. I would only carpool if people can deal with my schedule.” Zimride, the private carpooling website that UMBC’s homegrown “Casual Carpooling” moved to, shows a map of places where drivers live, or where passengers want to hitch a ride. The map markers span from Washington DC to Bell Air and everywhere in between, clustering along I-95. UMBC’s designated carpool parking area, located in lot 4, is only 15 spaces and usually only partially filled. “[The spots in lot 4] were initiated through the Transportation and Work group we have on campus,” Sidney Mason, a sustainability coordinator for OCSS and a junior biology and environmental science double major, said in an interview. “In regards to that, we’re planning on making a permanent lot on campus, specifically for commuter students. It’s a way to incentivize them.” Zimride also lets students set their price per seat for driving others, further incentive for drivers to volunteer their cars. “We’ve had discussions about incentives,” he continued. “[We’ve considered] giving a fee for parking passes … and providing discounts for people who use the carpooling method.” As of now, parking pass costs are included in tuition and fees. A visible purchase price might inspire some students to avoid it by signing up to carpool. Other than private, friend and acquaintance based travel, carpooling does not seem to be attracting a large percentage of the UMBC commuter population. Maybe in the next few semes-
...continued on next column
5 ters there will be a parking lot or parking pass changes that sway some hesitant commuters toward sharing their rides. For now, students will have to arrive to university early and snag the most attractive parking spots for themselves.
By Inayah Entzminger ientz1@umbc.edu Assistant Opinions Editor
Summer of statues This past summer was a particularly politically tumultuous one. With white supremacist displays in Charlottesville, emotions were running high concerning the removal of long-standing confederate monuments. A similar scene never ended up breaking out in Baltimore. This is due to Mayor Catherine Pugh removing the monuments quietly during the evening, thus successfully avoiding any confrontation. With UMBC’s close proximity to Baltimore, events in the city always end up affecting the campus, however indirectly. Lauren Vermeer, a senior mathematics major, stated, “The removal of the statues might bring up political debates among UMBC students ... but like any bold move, there will always be supporters, and those who do not agree.” UMBC became a school and part of the Baltimore community over 50 years ago, and some of the now removed confederate statues were not much older. Each of the monuments was erected at least a few decades after the Civil War - the most recent went up in 1948. Many supporters of confederate paraphernalia insist that the confederate flag and statues are not offensive, due to their place in American history. However, the undeniable truth is that many do find it offensive simply because of the implication of the subjugation of millions of human beings. Without taking a stand against symbols of oppression, you become complicit in that oppression. Mayor Pugh was quoted as saying that the removal was “in the best interest of [her] city.” She accurately identified the political climate that was brewing in Baltimore and throughout the country. “I think that the removal of the confederate statues was a proactive move by the city of Baltimore,”
Vermeer stated. “I was proud to see Baltimore ... make the first move of this nature. Representing US history is important, but should be done in a way that is not offensive to others.” Many of the justifications for keeping up the statues, excluding outright offensive and racist comments, is the preservation of history. However, that argument carries no weight in the state of Maryland, as it was not a part of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Maryland is a border state, and was a key element to winning the war for the Union. Even removing statues in areas that were part of the Confederacy does not deny or revise history. History can still be learned in museums, Civil War reenactments and other things of the like. Unlike museums, a statue or a monument has the connotation of respect or approval towards the subject. The Civil War was not just about the enslavement of black populations, but that was undeniably a large contributing factor. Therefore, the suggestion of tolerance towards the institution of slavery in today’s era is disrespectful to all those who suffered through it. Another common rationalization concerns the soldiers and veterans of the Civil War and how they should be respected, despite their side. While the old statement of “a rich man’s battle but a poor man’s fight” rings true, the symbolic meaning of the Confederate flag will always be connected to slavery. It is time for America to move on. Next on the list of statue removal, Christopher Columbus!
By Anie Shahnazarian shahna1@umbc.edu Senior Staff Writer
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OPINIONS The Retriever
Issues with hyper-masculinity
“Man, Image, Idea: Photographs of Men” from the Mark Rice Collection is an exhibition of about 75 photographs donated to the Special Collections at the Albin O.
sense of masculinity to avoid being labeled as “effeminate” or “gay.” Meanwhile, female expression of sexuality is so normalized in almost every form of media. From
as aggression and physical strength. Chidi Ede, a junior computer science major, says, “I grew up in a place where it was swing first and ask questions later. I would get into
Man, Image, Idea: Photographs of Men from the Mark Rice Collection is key to breaking down the stereotype of hyper-masculinity. Photo by Katie Lee.
Kuhn Library and Gallery at UMBC in 1998. The beautifully composed photographs display the male form in a vulnerable context that most people are not accustomed to. Men, especially in America, have to display a strong
television, movies and advertisements, it is not shocking to see nude female bodies hanging off of the magazine racks at the grocery store. However, nude male bodies create unease. Rice’s exhibit is important because it takes steps to portray men as something other than stoic and unemotional beings. Most photographs utilize foggy backgrounds so that the man is the central focus with nothing else to distract from his nakedness. The viewer’s eye is then forced to rest for longer than it usually would on the subject which results in the revelation that there was nothing to be afraid of in the first place. Since male bodies are not typically displayed in galleries as beautiful things to look at, it seems wrong to linger for too long. However, it is simply the unfamiliarity that is scary for most people. More representations of men in media that do not follow the format of hyper-masculinity are desperately needed. Hyper-masculinity can be defined as a gross exaggeration of male stereotypical behaviors such
fights over the most stupid things but if I had just talked about it I wouldn’t have had to fight.” Being raised on hyper-masculinity can have a far more detrimental effect than childhood fights. Douglas Kellner is the George F. Kneller Chair of Philosophy of Education at UCLA and author of the recently published book, “Guys and Guns Amok.” In his work, he explains this statistic: 98 percent of mass shooters in America are men. He argues that men are taught to embrace their violent feelings because violence is a sign of strength. “The crisis in masculinity is grounded in deteriorating socio-economic possibilities for men and is aggravated by our current economic crisis,” he says. “It is also produced in part by a media which shows violence as a way of solving problems.” Boys who grow up believing that being a man equates to never crying are the same men who end up associating emotion with weakness. If men in media are allowed to be soft and vulnerable, the next generation of boys will be able to feel secure in whatever ways they choose to express themselves. The collection will be on display until December 12, 2017.
By Samantha Frost frost2@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
11 OCT 2017 retrieverweekly.umbc.edu
The struggle of having the sniffles
As the fall semester continues, the leaves begin to change colors, the weather gets colder and more students across campus get sick. As a result, many students are faced with the decision of whether to attend classes or remain at home. Some students believe that remaining in their dorm rooms while sick is the better option. One such student is Nikki Kehl, a sophomore computer science major. Kehl states that she “chooses to remain in [her] room while sick. [She] believes that it is better to remain in [her] room to rest and recover rather than going to class. It also helps prevent other students from getting sick.” While this may be the case for some students, not everyone agrees with this. Other students believe that attending class even while sick is a better choice. One such student is Jon Schoenick, a freshman computer science major. Schoenick believes that attending class while sick is OK. Schoenick said, “Even when sick I attend classes, as I feel I should go to my classes because I paid for the class and I do not want to miss any key information given during that class.” However, attending classes while sick is not the best decision for any student. When students are sick, they are likely not able to pay attention in class. Several students that were interviewed admitted that when they attend class sick, they end up paying more attention to their symptoms of illness rather than on the work or concepts presented to them in class. A majority of students interviewed believed that when sick, students should remain in their rooms to get rest. Getting rest while sick helps the body recover and slowly feel better, allowing students to get back to their normal routine faster. The main reason for encouraging students to stay home while they are sick is to prevent other students from getting sick. By helping prevent the spread of sickness, students are helping
Many students are getting sick around this time of year. Photo courtesy of Pixabay via Creative Commons.
better their community by protecting their fellow students from catching their virus. Though this means the students have to miss class when sick, students can still study at home as to not miss out on any key information. For those that get sick while on campus, students always have the option to go to University Health Services. UHS is located near the lower part of Erickson hall. UHS is the on-campus option for students to get help when they are sick. For more information regarding UHS, and how it can help, stop by the service center, open Monday through Friday until 5 p.m. It seems clear that students should stay home if they are infected with a virus, but realistically, students will not always stay home if they are sick. All that can be done now is to try and prevent yourself from getting sick in the first place. Stay safe this sniffling season, Retrievers.
By Dakota Simons dak3@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT The Retriever
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Leslie Pietrzyk reminds us that humans are mortal When grief introduced itself into the life of Leslie Pietrzyk, she took a different approach in that she decided to acknowledge her grief, and then to share it with the rest of the world. Pietrzyk (pronounced P-trick) lives in Alex-
In a time where grief is around every corner, Pietrzyk’s message that grief has and always will be timeless is oddly comforting. Photo by Jaedon Huie.
andria, Virginia and teaches a writing program at Johns Hopkins University. In 2015, Pietrzyk was the winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Award for short stories. UMBC hosted a reading for Peitrzyk on Tuesday, Oct. 3 in the university library. When Pietrzyk’s husband, Rob, was thirty-seven years old, he suffered an unexpected heart attack during breakfast and passed away, leaving Leslie to maneuver the world of being a young widow. Twenty years later, she stood in front of an audience of university students and faculty to share her grief. Her book, “This Angel on my Chest” includes numerous short stories, all of which feature young widows. She weaves fact and fiction together throughout the stories in the book. Pietrzyk asserts that she challenged herself to include one truth about how she coped with her grief in each story, although the coping mechanism may not always be what is immediately obvious in each story. During her talk at UMBC, Pietrzyk read a story from her book called, “The Quiz,” in which she presents different scenarios a woman might face and how through options A, B, C and D, the woman should always pick D – the answer which includes informing anyone around her that her husband died unexpectedly at a young age. The audience was full of quiet people, all unsure how to address the sensitive topic of loss and love, and how they so frequently intertwine. Perhaps sensing our anguish, Pietrzyk addressed
the audience with some insight: “you can’t always predict what’s going to be painful.” She assured us that given the many years since her husband’s passing, she was open to hearing our thoughts and questions without the possibility of her breaking down.
“If you haven’t lost somebody yet, you will. Everyone dies.” –Leslie Pietrzyk
After her reading, there was a brief question and answer platform. I asked Pietrzyk if writing was the thing that helped her. Pietrzyk responded: “Writing is the thing that has helped me through my life. Writing always helps me.” But she clarifies that this therapeutic writing manifests in different ways. Writing in a journal daily about her feelings was helpful in a way different from writing a novel, which she wanted other people to read. Pietrzyk’s book and her experience are sensitive, strong, sad and brave. Her way of measuring up to her grief is extraordinary, and while she is right that we all will lose someone to death, she is also right about how we can practice our own therapeutic ways of coping with this grief, such as writing and being honest about our feelings.
By Amber Turkin amb5@umbc.edu Staff Writer
Monks and Music: Martin Luther’s reformation of song
With the 500th anniversary of monk Martin Luther posting his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of All Saints’ Church approaching on Oct. 31, the Medieval and Early Modern Studies Minor, the Department of Music, the Dresher Center for the Humanities and the Religious Studies Program invited Dr. Christopher Boyd Brown, Associate Professor of Church History at Boston University, to speak at UMBC. His visit last Wednesday commemorated Luther’s life and legacy within the church through a musical lecture entitled “Harmonious Monk.” Music was the central focus of Luther’s Reformation as he believed the Word of God was directly linked to music. The hymns he penned throughout his lifetime incorporated melodies from Gregorian chant (a style typical of clergyman), as well as technical stylings from other musical traditions, like those in Italy. Though he praised secular musical styles, he condemned their tendency towards lewdness. Luther also developed a new form of chanting during which the Scriptures would be sung at different pitches to emphasize the dramatic nature of the text. For example, all of Jesus’s lines were sung in a low pitch, evangelists and disciples took the middle range and all other lines and characters were given high pitches. This differentiation helped to accentuate the many parts of the Bible stories and give some areas more weight. Though controversial at the time,
Luther’s belief that all Christians were priests and therefore had an obligation to preach shaped the structure of modern day church services. He asserted that lay participation was just as needed during Mass as priest and choir participation. He pushed for congregational singing, and by the turn of the 16th century, the congregation advocated for even more opportunities for lay singing. Unusual to most musical concerts (and most lectures in general) Dr. Brown invited the audience to partake in the musical stylings of the Reformation by singing “Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott” with UMBC’s Camerata Choir to demonstrate how the Reformation made music more accessible to the laity—represented here by the audience. Ally Kasman, a sophomore music technology and mathematics double major and member of Camerata Chamber Choir, said, “The audience participation really reinforced the movement of music through the church; at that point in the Reformation, music was not just for clergymen anymore—it was for everyone. It was really cool to hear the audience singing with us and bringing that musical movement to life.” During the Reformation, Luther’s hymns became as much of a means of spiritual worship as they became a political statement. When Lutheran identity was threatened, the hymns helped to instill a sense of peace and
Dr. Christopher Boyd Brown adresses the audience about Martin Luther, his role in the reformation of the Catholic chruch as well as the introduction of music into religious celebration. Photo by Whinston Zhou. ground believers—from clergymen to laity—to their faith, equipping them for the Lutheran church tradition and giving them agency within their faith community. The next event in the Dresher Center’s Fall 2017 Forum cycle will be on Wednesday, Oct. 18 and is titled “The Changing Face of Modern War: Chemical Weapons and Civilian Bodies in the Aftermath of the First World War.” Dr. Susan R. Grayzel of Utah State Universi-
ty will be presenting this lecture in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. All lectures that are a part of the Humanities Forum are free and open to the public.
By Julia Arbutus ajul2@umbc.edu Senior Staff Writer
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT The Retriever
8 ‘Man, Idea, Image’: shedding light on today’s masculinity In the wake of black male fetishization, the condemnation of male homoeroticism and the strictures of the societal explanation of masculinity, “Man, Idea, Image: Photographs of Men from the Mark Rice Collection” tries to reclaim the art within male portraiture, specifically in the time period during the HIV/AIDS epidemic and following the Stonewall Rebellion, both of which proved to be tumultuous periods for the concept of masculinity. The collection challenges viewers to rethink conventional ideas of masculinity and allows men to be displayed in both erotic and deeply emotional states, displaying the body as if male nudity was as common in art exhibits as Monet’s paintings. The “man,” as referenced in the collection’s title, is both gentle and forceful, erotic and intimate, thoughtful and guarded, his multifaceted nature playing out in the preconceived notions set before him, about him.
Western culture primarily has one set idea of masculinity: a strong-minded, able-bodied, capable, heterosexual man who does not demonstrate a particularly wide range of expression. This collection showcases men who fit this stereotype and men who do not, placing them together in an effort to imply coexistence and normalcy; men are more than the image the Western stereotype of maleness that masculinity paints for them. The images of the collection are broken down into six sections, each tackling a different aspect of the idea of masculinity, ranging from ‘The Allegorical and Metaphorical of the Body’ to ‘Intimacy, Seduction, and Erections.’ Perhaps the most thought-provoking section of the exhibit is ‘The Black & Beautiful Body,’ which asks the viewer to redefine the black male body as beautiful art, without losing the historical and cultural contexts of race and fetishization.
The time period during which these pictures were collected cannot be ignored either. Pre-Stonewall, “coming out” was not generally accepted or normalized, but after Stonewall, coming out became a political act and a declaration of the voice of people on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. As such, posing for these pictures was a political act, a call to be seen completely — both physically and emotionally — as a member of society. Additionally, gay men living with HIV or AIDS during the late 90s were often further marginalized because of their disease, a disease often associated with drug addicts and those who engaged in immoral (read: homosexual) activities. The Mark Rice collection takes care to explore this isolation and desperation as many of the photographers who took pictures for the collection were personal affected by HIV/AIDS. Most art galleries do not celebrate the male form and rarely go so far as to
11 OCT 2017 retrieverweekly.umbc.edu
dedicate an entire exhibit to an examination of masculinity over the decades most affected by its redefinition. ‘Man, Idea, Image’ is unique in that it provides a perspective not often seen in visual artwork — that of the complex emotional nature of man, in relation to race, sexuality and temperament. ‘Man, Idea, Image’ can be viewed in the AOK Library Gallery during normal business hours until Dec. 12. Dr. James Smalls, the curator of the exhibit and a professor of Visual Arts at UMBC, will be giving a lecture entitled ‘The Mark Rice Collection and the Homoerotics of Photography after Stonewall”’on Dec. 7 starting at 4 p.m. Photos of the gallery by can be found on on page 10.
By Julia Arbutus ajul21@umbc.edu Senior Staff Writer
Digital artist Brandon Morse shares his artwork and their representation of ‘decline into disorder’
The Department of Visual Arts hosted an artist talk by Washington D.C. based artist, Brandon Morse, last Wednesday. This was Morse’s first visit to UMBC, but he has been teaching at College Park for 17 years. Although Morse works primarily with digital media and code, he received his Bachelor of Arts in painting and drawing. His interest is in generative systems, where a part or whole of work is created through the use of autonomous systems. Morse emphasized his interest in simulation and chance. His preferred systems are entropy, which he de-
fines as “the decline into disorder,” and emergence, when patterns and regularities arise through interactions among smaller parts (a school of fish, for example). All of the pieces shown to the audience were videos displayed on a projector in the front of the room. In a gallery setting, Morse said that the pieces were best shown projected onto a wall from floor to ceiling. “I layer random synthesizers in GarageBand,” Morse answered when asked about the unique sounds that were present in each video. In one case, he said that he slowed down a few country songs and played them over top of each other, resulting in a somewhat ambient, somewhat unsettling atmosphere. The purpose of sound in Morse’s work is to create a pace for the movements, although it seemed to be a nuisance to both the artist and the audience. The subject matter of most of Morse’s earlier work was geometric, architectural structures collapsing in on themselves. This is true for ‘Achilles, The Brownian Motion of Collective Woe’ and ‘Exit Strategy.’ These three pieces were created between 2005 and 2009, which accounts for the rigid structures on which Morse’s work was centered. He said that the financial crisis as well as the push-and-pull of the political climate influenced him to create videos of collapsing structures that appeared to fall indefinitely. Morse’s work is primarily time-based, with most pieces Brandon Morse’s technical inclination shows in his work which frebeing somewhere between ten quently plays with entropy, interaction of small parts, and architecand twenty minutes long. The ture among other mechanical focii. Photo by Jaedon Huie. most fascinating of Morse’s ar-
chitectural based pieces is “Exit Strategy” (2009), in which tall financial skyscrapers in a minimalist city inflate like balloons for the first ten minutes, then float away and vanish in the last five. After this series of architectural based pieces, Morse moved into a discussion of his more recent work. His first code based piece, “A Charged Shape” (2010) was an attempt to be more interactive with the viewer. It is organic, with little circular pieces floating in negative space, then gaining momentum and moving together. Morse’s intention with this work was for the audience to perceive the little round shapes to be “shooting at you.” He explained that one of his eyes was weaker than the other, which altered his notion of dimensionality and concreteness. Similarly, “High Pressure System” (2011) and “The Deep Random” (2012) carried Morse’s interest in emergence. In both of these works, smaller pieces were shown coming together to form random shapes. “The Deep Random” bore a striking resemblance to footage of pink sea anemone. The movement and entropy in this work created a fantastic sense of depth. Most of the work Morse presented was in greyscale, with either white negative space or black negative space. He explained that he wanted to prevent audiences from interpreting color as having any meaningful value. On an off note, the artist mentioned that he had trouble adding color to his digital pieces. By far his most colorful piece, “Giving Up the Ghost” (2015) was created using found images of sunsets from Google images. Here, little rocket shapes exploded downwards into red claw-like patterns. Morse’s most recent work is “In This Convex Hull” (2016), a sphere-themed piece designed for and displayed in the dome of the David M. Brown Planetarium in Arlington, VA. More of his work can be found in his online portfolio, at http://coplanar.org.
By Kiara Bell
kb16@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT The Retriever
11 OCT 2017 @retrieverumbc
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The Great Mystery Show at The American Visionary Arts Museum At The American Visionary Arts Museum’s newest exhbit, “The Great Mystery Show,” each and everyone one of the peices seems to hold a secret. These are secrets that go beyond the glint in the eye of the subject, to a level of extremity that does not hide that it holds a secret and rather taunts the viewer to delve further and further to discover what the answer to that mystery might be. (Below): “The Mystery of the Human Heart” depicts different societal representations of the heart, none of which are anatomical. Featuring St. Valentine’s Day and the Tin Man from “The Wizard of Oz,” among others, the section explores what really constitutes the heart, outside of the many metaphors we have to define it.
(Right): Jan Huling recreated her wedding gown, worn by her mother, her two aunts, and herself, after her mother died in 2016. The dress is covered in 260 plastic tiles formed into mandalas; because Huling worked around the clock to make this piece, it only took four and a half months to complete.
(Right): Combining a list of missing persons in the United States with Mary Bowron’s “Silent Witness Series” (the collection of ceramic heads), “The Mystery of the Missing” explores the fear within those who have no voice and the struggle for vocal equality.
(Right): Villa (center) is the young daughter of one of the artist’s close friends. Bedecked in a fantastical dress of butterflies and beetles and set against a starry night, Villa, and the other children pictured with her who are composed of maggots and bees, represent the mystery surrounding the bad things that may befall good people and the idea that those bad things may still create something beautiful. By Zachary Canter & Julia Arbutus Photos by Meghan Allis
GALLERY The Retriever
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11 OCT 2017 retrieverweekly.umbc.edu
UMD vs. UMBC Mark your calendar for these upcoming events: UMBC Connects: Northrop Grumman 10/18, 11am-2pm, UC 312
Grad School 101
10/19, 4:45-8pm, Skylight Room, The Commons Register at: careers.umbc.edu/gradschool101/
On the Road: Constellation Energy, an Exelon company 10/20, 8:30am-1pm, RSVP in UMBCworks
UMBC Connects: TIAA
10/25, 11am-2pm, UC 312
Diversity Recruitment Event
10/25, 5-8pm, UC Ballroom (Limited Seating) Register by Oct. 18: careers.umbc.edu/dre/
On the Road: Space Telescope Science Institute 10/27, 9:15am-1:30pm, RSVP in UMBCworks
On the Road: T. Rowe Price
11/3, 8:30am-1pm, RSVP in UMBCworks
See the full list of events & details
@ careers.umbc.edu/calendar/
“Man, Idea, Image: Photographs of Men from the Mark Rice Collection” tries to reclaim the art within male portraiture, specifically in the time period during the HIV/AIDS epidemic and following the Stonewall Rebellion, both of which proved to be tumultuous periods for the concept of masculinity. See page 7. Photos by Megumi Gomyo.
GALLERY The Retriever
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On Sept. 26, UMBC faced off against UMD at Retriever Soccer Park. The Retrievers were able to hold College Park back with the game coming to a close in a tie at 1-1 in front of one of the most spirited crowds a Retriever soccer game has seen. Photos by Ian Feldmann.
umbCHIC
Giavanni Powell, Junior
By Katie Lee
kat43@umbc.edu Senior Staff Photographer
Dance and BTA, minor in Entrepreneurship
Biochemical Engineering
Hannah Aris, Senior
Najee Smith, Senior
“Chill and comfy.”
“Almost classy and a little unique?”
“Different…”
Chemical Engineering
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The Retriever
Y T L U C A F D E UR
T A E F 8 1 0 2 N N I O I E S K S N E Y S TH R DR . K A
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING AT UMBC ?
I am starting my second year at UMBC teaching in Gender and Women’s Studies. Before this, I was teaching
at George Washington University while completing my Ph.D. in American Studies from Cornell (2007).
WHY SHOULD A STUDENT CONSIDER TAKING A WINTER COURSE? Winter courses are great because they allow students to interact with the material of a course a little
differently. During fall and spring semesters we are all juggling a busy course load, jobs, and activities
all at once. In winter courses you are giving a topic your undivided attention. You can learn a lot about a
subject when you have the luxury of devoting so much of your intellectual energy to it.
WHAT COURSE ARE YOU TEACHING DURING WINTER SESSION 2018? I am teaching GWST 323 - Gender and Sitcoms. What’s so unique
about this course is that it takes something we think of as trivial,
like a TV sitcom—fun, maybe, but not an important thing to study in
school—and takes it seriously as a part of our culture that influences
how we see and interact with the world. We get to watch 30 Rock for homework, but we’ll also pair it with a text about the show’s
exploration of discourses of feminism in popular culture. We can
debate if we think Liz Lemon’s feminism is the same as that of Tina Fey.
Read more at gritgoing.umbc.edu.
SPORTS The Retriever
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UMBC volleyball continues to dominate on the court
Serving for the win, she tosses the ball up-- everyone’s eyes are locked in. As the ball hangs in the air, a vicious spike smashes the ball downward as it bounces off the ground resulting in a point. UMBC’s volleyball team has been on a roll lately and that is thanks in part to players umbc Kristin Watson and Carmen Freeman. These two women have each made an impact on the team in their own ways. Watson is the co-captain on the team and one of the defensive anchors, also named the defensive player of the year for the conference last year. Carmen Freeman, a freshman on the team, has garnished a great deal of respect in her own right earning rookie of the week on three separate occasions. The UMBC Volleyball team has won four of the last give games after facing Binghamton. The Retrievers won 3-1 taking three straight sets. Preparation is key explains Coach Ian Blanchard as he discusses the team’s preparation strategy for starting conference season. “We try to prepare as best we can for each opponent and try to figure out their strengths and weaknesses”. The Retrievers were definitely able to spot some weaknesses and make a strong comeback, dominating in the last two sets. Watson showed up as expected with 20 digs while Carmen showed out on her side with 16 kills. This game marked the team’s third straight conference game out of seven and demonstrated the team’s strong start on the right foot with this win. Rebounding after a loss where they didn’t win a set was a tremendous feeling, a triumphant return of that winning high as Carmen explains. “It definitely hurts. Especially when you’re on a streak, you’re on a mindset of winning and then you lose and its like, oh forgot what that feels like. But I think we’re all ready to get back in it and play well against
other teams”. These last two seasons have fared well for the Retrievers, posting a winning record the previous season and continuing that run with a winning record so far this year. Coach Blanchard describes this year’s team as, “one of best teams we’ve had from a chemistry perspective. We have very good leadership in our junior class as well as the sophomore class which provides a good look for our freshman.” Watson is one of these unsung heroes on that back end, keeping the volleyball in play and saving points. Going into Binghamton, she expressed their determination and admits mistakes and shortcomings from the previous matchup. “This is our very first home conference game so we’re excited about that but we have to be more aggressive in our serves, try to be in sync for our serve receive and i think that’ll lead to the rest of our game going well.” Watson is one of the junior leaders that has helped to shape this winning mentality for the team with a tremendous amount of hard work and focus. There was no doubt about this when asked about getting over the loss to Hartford where she stated: “We dont want to play like that again. It was some what of a wake up call we gotta be better we gotta work harder and stay focused if we want to compete.” That loss along with Watson’s leadership seemed to re-motivate the team to continue their streak with a 3-1 win against Binghamton. The Retrievers continue to make a run for the championship with a postponed game against Albany and two away matches against University of Massachusetts Lowell and New Hampshire starting on Friday, Oct. 13. Junior defensive specialist Kristin Watson has been an leader on the UMBC volleyball team
By Jmar Smith
jsmith43@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
and continues to drive the Retirievers in their conference season. The Retrievers currently stand with a 2-1 America East conference record. Photo by Ian Feldmann.
Retriever volleyball enters conference season with hearts pumping black and gold
Retrievers volleyball looks to extend their America East record October 13 against New Hampshire. After an impressive sweep of Hartford, UMBC was on a 4-game winning streak until a 3-0 Stony Brook loss. The Retrievers have returned triumphantly with an at home win against Binghamton on Friday Oct. 6. That opening game against Hartford had junior Paola Rojas (San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) showcase a career-high 14 kills and be named UMBC athlete of the week. This was while she still waited on word from her family after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20. “It was kind of hard to concentrate
on my game, but I had my coaches. They were there for me, helping me out. It was just a team effort,” said Rojas. Last year’s two games against Stony Brook each went the full five sets and were extremely competitive. Head Coach Ian Blanchard hopes for another easy sweep, but feels that both teams are evenly matched on multiple fronts which should lead to another competitive night for the Retrievers. So competitive were their games last year that junior Kristin Watson (Bowie, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt) nearly broke the school record for digs in the Stony Brook game. Head Coach Ian Blanchard feels Kristin Watson, coming off defen-
sive player of the week honors for the Hartford game, brings an energy to the team that compounds with the comradery seen with Paola Rojas. “She’s just such a positive bolt of energy as a defensive player,” said Blanchard. “I think she inspires her teammates and everyone else wants to work hard around her.” Head Coach Blanchard, speaking briefly about their game against No.12 ranked Nebraska back on September 1, brought up the size difference UMBC normally faces. That loss appears to have inspired the team moving forward though. “We’re not the most physical team in the conference, we’re not the biggest
team in the conference, but we like to think that we play with a lot of heart,” said Blanchard As seen by the rallying around our athletes with family in Puerto Rico to the positive impact Kristin Watson brings to the team, it is hard to argue that UMBC volleyball does not have a lot of heart. They will need that sense of family to continue their great start to the conference.
By Zach Tucker tuckz1@umbc.edu Probationary Writer
SPORTS The Retriever
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Student section POV: men’s soccer conference matchup
On a chilly Saturday night, the Retrievers headed into conference play with a 5-2-2 overall record, matching their win total from a year ago when they went 5-9-3 overall. When they entered conference play one year ago, they did so with a 4-2-3 record, going on to lose seven straight games in conference only to be broken up by a rare non-conference match up in a late-October win against Drexal University. Entering conference play, the Retrievers have had a season which has shown flashes of greatness, upsetting No. 19 West Virginia 3-1 and stunning No. 1 Maryland with a 1-1 tie. The Retrievers have played only one other ranked opponent this season, losing 2-0 against No.12 Western Michigan. So, after an 0-7 conference record last year, and an amazing start to the 2017 campaign, the Retrievers were hopeful to start off their conference
slate with a bang, and that’s just what they did. Entering the game ranked and undefeated, the New Hampshire Wildcats were a clear favorite to win this conference showdown. Nevertheless, UMBC came out of the gates very strong in the beginning of the game. The Retrievers looked great, making crisp passes, winning tough challenges, and seeming to physically dominant from the start. They quickly made it appear as if New Hampshire was the real underdog in this contest. As the opening minutes progressed, UMBC drove down the field forcing a corner kick, a quick start to action. On a corner kick by senior Cormac Noel, the ball was headed near the goal by Kyle Saunderson, finally reaching the goal after a clutch kick by senior midfielder Sammy Kahsai. The remainder of the game became a battle of the
keepers, showing numerous tough tests for both New Hampshire’s Andrew Pesci, and UMBC’s crowd favorite Ciaran O’Loughlin. But after Kahsai’s goal in the eighth minute, neither of the goal keepers faltered. O’laughlin went on to make four saves, as the Wildcats out-shot the Retrievers 16-6. Though the shots may have seemed lopsided, the raw numbers do not paint an accurate picture. While it reads that the shots were bombarding the goal through the night, many of the Wildcat’s shots missing by ridiculous margins. Many murmurs in the student section suggested that New Hampshire’s efforts were lackadaisical, and aside from two specifically impressive saves from O’Loughlin, New Hampshire did not pose much of a threat for the Retrievers. After the game, the Wildcats were
quite visibly upset, as three of their players lay on the ground for quite some time after the conclusion of the match. Junior back Otto Salen was on the ground for a particularly long time after the game after having a tough night playing in front of the UMBC student section, and missing some key plays throughout the game. The Retrievers were back in action against conference rivals Binghamton on Saturday, Oct. 7 with a 1-1 tie. The next home game will take place on Saturday, Oct. 14 as the Retrievers take on Albany as part of the weeks homecoming activities.
The UMBC women’s soccer team hosted Hartford in conference play on Sunday Oct. 8, losing 4-1. UMBC hosted the America East Spread Respect game, which has a goal of bringing people together for sports across all backgrounds. The Spread Respect initiative is a revamped “You Can Play” initiative, looking to have and maintain respect for all student-athletes. Academic advisor for student-athletes, Jonathan Newby, said, “The goal of Spread Respect is to let people know that people of all backgrounds, whether race, gender, religion, etc. can come together and do great things.” UMBC came into the game with a record of 2-7-3 overall and 0-3-0 in America East play, while the Hartford Hawks entered with a record of 6-6-2 overall and 2-1-1 in conference. Sophomore biology major Rayven Conner cleared a ball long, created an
error from a Hartford defender and caused a stretching save from the goalkeeper to keep the Hawks lead. Hartford came out firing after that, scoring first in minute 27, putting UMBC on the back foot. The Retrievers went to the locker room down 1-0 to the preseason No. 1 team in the conference. After halftime, the team went 4-0 down to Hartford before turning their game around and attacking with the ball. After shots went wide and hitting the crossbar, UMBC put a goal in from sophomore psychology major Jamie Shiflett. In minute 88, Shiflett headed the ball home from a cross by sophomore Emily Horn. Junior visual arts major Leah Roth led the team from the goalkeeping position, keeping the defense in order and making two saves on the day. She now has 57 saves on the season and a
goals allowed average of 1.50. UMBC drops to 2-8-3 overall and 0-4-0 in conference play. They will be playing UMass Lowell and Stony Brook away from home on Oct. 12 and the Oct. 15 respectively. The Retrievers will return home on Thursday, Oct. 19 when they play the University of Ver-
mont in the Think Pink Game, honoring breast cancer awareness month.
By Zac McCord
zmmcord1@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
Women’s soccer struggles in conference season By Sam Nelson
snelson3@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
Join us at our Owings Mills campus on October 18 to explore cyber security topics surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT). Reserve your space today at stevenson.edu/iot
UMBC hosted the annual Spread Respect game on Sunday, Oct. 8. The Sread Respect campaign aims to show equal respect and opportunity among athletes. Photo by Ian Feldmann.
11 OCT 2017 @retrieverumbc
SPORTS The Retriever
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Men’s soccer freshmangoal keeper, Ciaran O’Loughlin was named America East Coplayer of the week along with senior midfielder Sammy Kahsai in the first week of October. Both Kahsai and O’Loughlin contributed to the Retrievers stunning upset against No. 1 University of Maryland, College Park on Sept. 26. Photo courtesy of UMBC Athletics.
Athlete Spotlights: Sammy Kahsai & Ciaran O’Loughlin On the back of two great results for UMBC, two Retrievers: senior midfielder Sammy Kahsai and freshman goalie Ciaran O’Loughlin were awarded America East co-players of the week. Sammy Kahsai, 22 and of Ethiopian descent, scored the winning goal against No. 12 New Hampshire Wildcats and assisted senior Gregg
Senior midfielder Sammy Kahsai. Courtesy of UMBC Athletics.
Hauck’s game tying goal against the No. 1 seed Maryland Terrapins. He is studying business technology administration. Kahsai thanks his award and recent successes to his teammates. “It feels great,” Kahsai said. “Without my teammates, I wouldn’t be getting this award. It shows that all the work we’ve been putting in throughout the preseason till now pays off. I’m very excited, it’s more of a team accomplishment instead of just me.” He spoke about the impact of he and the other attackers: “No [I didn’t change anything in my routine]. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time for the goal [against the Wildcats], and thanks to Gregg Hauck for converting on that assist of mine [against Maryland]. Just stick to the system [to keep our attack flowing]. Coach has been here for a long time, so we just better believe in whatever they tell us to do and just execute everything we do in practice in the game.” With the team flying high and recently moving up in rank to No. 16 according to Soccer America National Top 25 recent rating, how high does Kahsai think the Retrievers can go? “The sky is our limit,” he said. “We are playing every game day by day. I think this team can go real far, we
just have to translate our practice into games.” Kahsai, who prides himself as a family man, supports Arsenal football club and attended a college league in Alberquerque, New Mexico this summer with his teammate, senior defender Tom Paul. Keeping up with the gratitude for his team, he sings high praise of fellow America East player of the week O’Loughlin. “He’s huge! It is a pleasure to have a goalkeeper that can make big saves. Especially as a freshman, he has been fabulous.” Ciaran O’Loughlin has also played a large part in helping UMBC to a No. 16 rank. He made seven big saves to keep Maryland at bay and made four saves to shut out the Wildcats. As a freshman, he is pleased to have integrated into the squad well. “There is a lot of rookies...but it’s exciting to get the award,” O’Loughlin said. “As Sammy said, it has a lot to do with how we settle in, and how people make you feel, and the lads have made me feel welcome. It’s nice to get recognition [when the fans chanted MVP for me]. It is [great] ... for people to recognize that I’m doing my job to the best of my ability.” Ciaran, 20 and of English descent, supports Everton and plays FIFA games in his spare time. Unknown
to many, he won the under-18 premier league playing for Everton back at home in England. In regards to the clean sheet in the last game and the stamina of the defense, he said: “Yeah, I didn’t have much to do ... and Sammy came up trumps with the goal. Motivation [keeps us focused till the end]. We are there for one thing only, to win the game no matter how you do it.” In like of his teammate, he also praised Kahsai’s performance. “He’s a bit of a character. All rounder, a nice hardworking lad, he knows what his focus and he is down to earth.” Both players finished by saying the fans should expect more from them and keep coming to support them in future games. The Retrievers ended their bout with Binghamton in New York on Saturday with a 1–1 tie. They continue in conference play with University of Massachusetts Lowell on Oct 11 and Albany on Saturday, Oct 14 for their annual homecoming game.
By Nome Iyayi
eiyayi1@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
16 HARRYSCOPES Aries (Mar. 21-Apr. 19)
Basilisks reside in the tunnels under the school; that’s why your best friend Steven went missing three months ago.
Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20) Don’t follow the spiders; follow the butterflies. The spiders are dangerous... Gemini (May 21-June 20) Chinese fireball, oooh.
PUZZLES The Retriever Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Unlike the phoenix, you will not rise from the ashes of your fall semester grades.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
A pygmy puff will soon find itself very attached to you. His name is Larry, and he loves you.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Carry a torch between 2:00 and 2:15 today to ward off the yeti.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) No, your roommate is not a troll.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) The conditions will be right to buy a unicorn during the fifth hour of the fifth day of this week. Don’t miss it.
Aquarius (Jan. 22-Feb. 18) Eleven and a half inches, vine, wampus cat hair core.
If you feel a sudden urge to give a speech in Mermish, don’t worry. It’s just the gnomes.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) I suspect the Nargles have something to do it.
Pisces (Feb. 18-Mar. 20) Wrackspurts. Your brain’s full of them.
Across
1. Hockey footwear 6. Church alcove 10. Collections 14. Walked a trail 15. Wail 16. Pearly-shelled mussel 17. Unpaid 18. An upright in a wall 19. Water pit 20. Coldest season of the year 22. Journey 23. Calamitous 24. Fast
26. Sandwich shop 30. Delivery vehicle 31. Buff 32. Shower 33. Does something 35. A Eurasian aromatic herb 39. Paving material 41. Killer wave 43. Plateaux 44. Immediately 46. Prune 47. Top part of an apron 49. Consumed food 50. Border
51. Antenna 54. Medical breakthrough 56. Encounter 57. Apparent 63. Operatic solo 64. Module 65. Large tropical American fish 66. Anagram of “Sing” 67. Sediment 68. Ere 69. Dispatched 70. Type of sword 71. Pairs of oxen
1. Display 2. Flightless bird 3. Analogous 4. Canvas dwelling 5. Nosed (out) 6. Briefs 7. Hospital client 8. Travelled through water 9. Not the youngest 10. Nourishment 11. Habituate 12. Shy
13. Overly sentimental 21. Challenger 25. A Maori club 26. Apothecary’s weight 27. Alleviate 28. What we kiss with 29. Denizen 34. Figurine 36. An aromatic ointment 37. Dirty air 38. Cry of pain 40. Largest continent
42. Strict 45. Feeling 48. Shirtwaist 51. Accumulate 52. Creepy 53. Rule 55. An analytic literary composition 58. Trim 59. Data 60. A novel 61. Old stories 62. Anagram of “Seek”
Down
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11 OCT 2017 retrieverweekly.umbc.edu
TEAM!
The Retriever is looking for new writers, photographers, and more! Apply online at retriever.umbc.edu
Answers to our biweekly crossword puzzle can be found at www.mirroreyes. com. This puzzle was from March 10, 2016. On March 10, 1535, The Galapagos Islands were discovered. Answers to our biweekly sudoku can be found at www.crosswordpalace.com. This is puzzle 542.
11 OCT 2017 @retrieverumbc
STUDENT LIFE The Retriever
A new home over six thousand miles away “It’s a new experience. If you’re always stuck in one place you’ll never see the world, you’ll never see the people.” Xiaolin Su is a senior financial economics major at UMBC. Su now comfortably calls the UMBC campus home. When she left China and entered the United States for the first time, however, she was met with an intimidating new country. “As a non-native speaker, all of the things here make me nervous,” said Su. “I don’t want people looking at me thinking ‘she can’t even speak English and she looks weird, dresses weird.’ [I don’t want people looking at me] like I [don’t] belong to here.” The difficulty of Su’s transition was stressed by her limited resources in China. Due to internet censorship, she did not have access to the same websites Americans do. This limitation impeded her ability to learn about the United States before coming. She could not even find pictures of UMBC. The welcoming atmosphere at UMBC, however, helped her adapt to a new country. Su recalls how when she was first at orientation, she did not know how to find the correct building. Thankfully, a student helped her with directions and walked her to the classroom. “It’s [a] small thing, but it [felt] really nice,” Su recalls. Su believes that such events demonstrate that Americans are friendly. According to Su, Americans are more likely to greet and smile at strangers. Su also delights in the cultural diversity she found in the United States. Her interest in different cultures began with an upbringing different from that of most young girls in China. Su was raised in Dalian, a northern
Su recently had an internship at Harper’s BAZAAR China. Photo by Katie Lee.
Chinese city which was under Japanese and then Russian control during the late 19th and through the mid20th centuries. Su therefore grew up surrounded by Russian castles and European architecture. She also had numerous Korean classmates. They all spoke in Chinese, but they exposed Su to another culture in a country that is 91 percent Han Chinese. “Perhaps that is why I like Korean food so much,” Su said. Su was acclimated with cultural diversity, but when she arrived in the United States, she found an ethnic landscape that was differently diverse from that of her home. “Here there are white people and black people,” Su says, “It’s totally different. There are so many cultures.” When Su first came to UMBC, she took English classes for a year to prepare for her coursework in economics. One of her favorite topics of discussion in class was American and Chinese culture. She also enjoyed writing and speaking assignments because they helped improve her English. Speaking English with non-native speakers, however, had unique challenges. Su says, “Because we are not native speakers, it can be stressful. I might not understand [what one of my classmates] is talking about, and he doesn’t understand what I’m [talking] about.” Despite the stresses of living abroad, Su enjoys the freedom of expression she has at UMBC. A lesbian and self-described tomboy, Su believes the representation for LGBTQIA+ individuals in the United States is starkly different from that in China. “In China they reject [LGBTQIA+],” Su says. “They don’t put [LGBTQIA+ individuals in the] news. They ban [LGBTQIA+] movie stars [and] singers.” She believes that despite the persistence of homophobia, LGBTQIA+ individuals in America are freer to express their identities. Though it has not been without hardships, Su is happy with her decision to earn her degree in the U.S. because it has allowed her to experience a lifestyle that is unimaginable in China. She says her journey to improve her English also improved her confidence and made her want to improve herself. Truly full of grit, Su is a proud member of our diverse UMBC community.
By Julian Tash
jtash1@umbc.edu Assistant Student Life Editor
Exploring LGBTQIA+ suicide prevention What started as a PowerPoint presentation became a candid discussion of experiences with mental health, and the sometimes blatant discrepancies in services available to those seeking help. This is part of “‘Coming Out’ of the Darkness,” an event hosted by the Mosaic and Interfaith centers focused on suicide prevention in the LGBTQIA+ community. Students and staff members seated in a semi-circle listened to a presentation by Dorian Holliday from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Holliday spoke generally about suicide statistics as well as
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bate existing mental health struggles and ostracize people from resources that enable them to seek treatment. Financial issues presented the most common barrier to treatment for discussion participants. Many cited the high fees charged by private therapists and the struggle to find providers covered by their insurance. Participants called for more awareness of financial struggles when educating students and staff about mental health and designing resources. Other barriers discussed included cultural ignorance, lack of support from family and the negative stigma that exists around seeking treatment.
Attendees shared their stories during the event, and some made strong connections with students they had never met before. Photo by Manuel Carranza.
prevalent risk factors before focusing specifically on how LGBTQIA+ people are affected by suicide and mental health issues. After the presentation, a discussion was facilitated by Holliday and Carlos Turcios from the Mosaic Center. In Maryland, suicide is the leading cause of death for adolescents aged 10-14, and the third leading cause of death for people aged 15-34. Suicide is also the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. The rates of suicide among LGBTQIA+ youth, however, are 3-4 times higher than other young adults. The rate for transgender youth is 8-10 times higher. In the United States between 5.2 million and 9.5 million people identify as LGBTQIA+. Holliday emphasized that many suicides go unreported, especially in the LGBTQIA+ community. Holliday cited the need for more comprehensive targeted research to fully understand the impacts of suicide on underserved populations. LGBTQIA+ people are often at risk for experiencing discrimination, holding minority status or facing rejection from their families. These stressful life experiences can exacer-
Those barriers to treatment motivated Amani Johnson, a doctoral intern at the counseling center, to attend the event. She noted how critical it is to show “support for marginalized and underrepresented communities.” Several other staff members from the Counseling Center were present to offer immediate support and to remind students of the various mental health services available on campus. Students can make appointments to meet with a counselor one-on-one or even have a mental health screening over the phone. There is also a mind spa located in the Counseling Center. Filled with soothing amenities, like a massage chair and meditation space, the mind spa is designed to help students relax and practice self-care. Despite the difficulties in mental health care, Holliday emphasized that through education we can “create a culture that is smart about suicide prevention.”
By Abby Hart
ahart1@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
STUDENT LIFE The Retriever
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11 OCT 2017 retrieverweekly.umbc.edu
Annual big prize poetry contest is a slam hit
On Friday evening, poets, lovers of poetry and friends gathered in the atrium of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building to listen to nine poets in the campus community share their work. The fifth annual Big Prize Poetry Slam helped kick off Homecoming festivities which continue through October 14. The event is hosted by the English Department, the Homecoming Committee and Bartleby, the UMBC creative arts journal. Sally Shivnan, Associate Director of the Writing and Rhetoric Division of the English Department, believes that the poetry slam is special because it brings different people together to celebrate the creative community. Shivnan says, “It’s a perfect storm of students, alumni, faculty, fans, all supporting each other, caring about poetry, recognizing that this art form matters and that these poets sharing their work really matter[s].” The poetry slam is incredibly festive, but it is also competitive. The organization committee receives many entries. The committee evaluates all of the auditions and selects
eight to nine poets to compete at the event. “What makes this particular poetry slam special, is its competitive but very supportive spirit,” says Shivnan. “Our poets come from across all majors, and their poetry spans a great spectrum of interests and forms. We get heart-breaking, politically powerful slam poetry; we get soaring, beautiful lyric poetry.” Dan Rodaire, the poetry slam emcee, began the night by introducing the five judges. The judges determine the final scores of each competing poet and decide the winners of the event. He then randomly selected a name from a hat. Tess Mcrae, a freshman English major, was the first competitor to share her work. Poems conveyed personal stories, glimpses of beauty and specific emotions shared through spoken words. Charles Griffin took home the third place prize that night. Calista Ogburn, a freshman public health major, won second place. “During my years in high school, I went through traumatic experi-
Winners received prizes ranging from $50 - $200. Photo courtesy of Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.
ence[s] and poetry was my way of coping,” said Ogburn. Ogburn shared a story about her best friend and how the two helped each other realize the beauty in life with or without the ability to hear. She used sign language throughout her poem. Amber C. Wheeler, a sophomore English major, took home the first place prize of $200.
“Poetry is the only way I know how to speak. It is my tongue,” Wheeler said. “Without a platform, you don’t know how high you can go. Without the pressure of an audience you don’t know what you’re capable of.”
By Sara Chernikoff scherni1@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
Get down and give back at dance marathon
Flashing lights, balloons and music can only mean one thing: the return of the Retriever Dance Marathon, an annual event on campus, organized by a student group of the same name, that seeks to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer. For the third year in a row, the RDM brought the community at UMBC together to raise awareness for the B Positive foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to help children with pediatric cancer and their
families. The University Center ballroom was transformed into a dance hall for the night, and from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., dance groups and individuals competed to raise money and show off their moves. The annual dance marathon is a chance for students to let their hair down for a good cause, and this year featured giveaways, free food, raffles and performances running all night long. The organization set a goal to raise $5,000 this year, topping their $3,000
goal from last year, but the money is not their only goal. Janae Cruz, the Student Life Coordinator for Student Engagement, says that while a monetary goal is always set, the most important thing is “increasing the teams and students invested in the cause” while “bringing together the UMBC community for a good cause.” The purpose of the event was to raise money for cancer research and for the families of pediatric
Twelve different dance and musical groups took the stage on Friday night. Photo by Megumi Gomyo.
cancer patients, but Sriya Namagiri, a senior biology and pre-med student and the internal president of RDM stresses that, while the group would like to top their goal of $5,000, they have other aspirations. According to Namagiri, they hope to “[focus] on outreach and informing the UMBC community about what we do and spreading our message to a larger community.” Namagiri adds that the organization raises money throughout the year, and that the dance marathon is a celebration of what they’ve done in the year and a chance to raise awareness for those helped by the B+ foundation. Among the groups performing tonight were the dancers of Retriever Bhangra, an on-campus dance group that focuses on Punjabi culture. Shalini Jain, one of the dancers from Retriever Bhangra, said that her group was excited to perform, and that she found about the event through friends who were on the board. Jain said, “We decided to
join, because it’s a really great cause, so why not!” B+ assists families in need by helping families with medical expenses and emotional support. They also raise money for pediatric cancer research through grant programs. The organization honors the life of Andrew McDonough, who passed away at the age of 14 after a 167-day battle with complications from leukemia. The organization’s name was inspired by the boy’s blood type, and the name became a mantra for those affected by childhood cancer: “Be positive.” While the dance marathon is RDM’s big event at UMBC, the students work throughout the year, and hope that events like Friday’s will spread awareness across campus. More information on Friday’s event and the student organization can be found online. For more information on the B+ Foundation, see their website.
By Kelley Bennett bk17@umbc.edu Contributing Writer
STUDENT LIFE The Retriever
19 Lopez fundraises to help Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria 11 OCT 2017 @retrieverumbc
From page 1
Authorities expect the power grids to be down for months, leaving all the residents to rely on $10 per day worth of diesel to run their generators - should they own one. Most of the coastal regions are completely demolished and it is nearly impossible to get cars through the roads, which also limits the amount of aid and resources that can reach these devastated areas. Lopez vocalizes the frustration and fear of many Puerto Ricans. “San Juan may be getting help, but other parts of Puerto Rico still have no power, no food, no water,” she explained. “They are thirsty, they are hungry, they are dying … people are writing their names on their chests and on their backs because they don’t know if they are going to survive and they don’t have any form of identification.” Hospitals are facing significant obstacles in remaining open. Consequently, Lopez has decided to send her funds to San Jorge’s Children Foundation, a non-profit children’s cancer hospital which is currently providing medical services to pediatric patients from Puerto Rico and nearby islands affected by Hurricane Maria and Irma. Lopez adds, “Hospitals cannot function without diesel and people here aren’t aware that they need diesel for the machines to run, and as a result, people aren’t getting the treatment they need.” The UMBC community alone has donated $880 so far which Lopez has collected while sitting at her fundraising table outside either the Administration Building, the RAC, or the Commons every day for the past 2 weeks from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. But she took it one step further.
“I emailed President Hrabowski about [the fundraiser] because he is a well-known man with a lot of connections, and he came down and talked to me,” said Lopez. “He was really proud that someone was doing something about it and then he donated.” Hrabowski donated $100 through the GoFundMe page. Lopez has also been collecting supplies to send over to Puerto Rico. She has donation boxes located in the lobby of the RAC. The biggest problem Lopez faces is trying to find affordable shipping options for the items she has collected and hopes UMBC will help cover the costs. As of Sept. 29, Lopez has sent two big boxes of donated items to her friend, a Towson University volleyball player leading her own relief effort. TU is then paying to send those supplies to Puerto Rico. Lopez also expressed her frustration in regards to interacting with students who are unaware of the catastrophe affecting Puerto Rico. “A guy walked by my table and asked me, ‘What are you raising money for?’ I said, ‘Puerto Rico’ and he was like, ‘Oh what happened?’ I said, ‘A hurricane’ and he said, ‘Oh cool.’” Lopez emphasizes the necessity of raising awareness about this crisis and believes that the people Students leave sticky notes that extend thoughts and in the contiguous United States could significantly in- prayers to the people of Puerto Rico. Photo courtesy of Claudia Lopez. fluence the amount of attention and aid that Puerto Rico receives. “Many people have asked me when am I going to By Tahsin Khan stop, but I don’t want to stop because this is not a tkhan3@umbc.edu day’s work or a week’s work or even a month’s work. Editor-in-Chief I will always do what I can to help my island in any way possible.”
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11 OCT 2017 @retrieverweekly
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The Retriever
Thursday 10/12 Women and the Environment
Commons: Women’s Center 4 - 5 p.m.
Homecoming Talent Show
UC Ballroom 8 - 10 p.m.
Tribute to Barbara Mikulski
Senator Theater 6 p.m.
African Americans in Fells
Fells Point Visitor Center 7 - 9 p.m.
Friday 10/13 Comedy: Trevor Noah
RAC 9 - 11 p.m.
Late night: weekend Edition
True Grit’s 9 p.m. - 1 a.m.
Fifteen Years of Queer
Theatre-Project: Baltimore 8 - 11 p.m. Tickets $10
Saturday 10/14 Homecoming Carnival
Erikson Field Noon - 9 p.m.
Fall Art Show
Charlestown Retirement Community 3 - 5 p.m.
Annual FamFest
900 E 33rd Street 12:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Sunday 10/15 My Mother was a Freedom Fighter Red Emma’s 3 p.m.
Komen Race for the Cure
McHenry Row 7:30 a.m. Tickets $15+
Harbor Harvest
Rush Field 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Monday 10/16 ConnectingOrgs
Commons: Student Org Space 5 - 6 p.m.
Books, Coffee, and Conversation
Honors College: the Color Purple
BCPL: Arbutus Branch 10 - 11 a.m.
The Hippodrome Baltimore Bus leaves Commons Circle at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday 10/17
Volleyball v. Hartford
Professional Dress Attire
Commons: Women’s Center 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Men’s Soccer v. Delaware
Retriever Soccer Park 7 - 9 p.m.
Preserving Iraqi Jewish Heritage
RAC 7 - 9 p.m.
Fell’s Point Ghostwalk
On Campus Arbutus Baltimore
Outside Max’s Taphouse 8 - 9 p.m. Tickets $13; Register online
Catonsville
Saturday 10/21
21+
Community Flea Market
Ticket prices shown refer to student rates.
Jewish Museum of Maryland 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tickets $6
Trinity United Methodist Church 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Pratt Street Trivia
Pratt Street Ale House 7:30 - 10 p.m.
Lurman Theater 2 - 6 p.m. Tickets: $7
(seb) Pumpkin Baseball
Wednesday 10/18
Russian Festival
Trivia at Coursey’s
TSN Stress Management
Commons 331 Noon - 1 p.m.
Mundo Lingo: Halloween Party
Commons: Lower Flat Tuesdays 4 - 6 p.m.
Scary Scavenger Hunt
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church Noon - 9 p.m.
Baltimore Running Festifval
Paca and Camden Streets 7:30 a.m.
Sunday 10/22
Challenging the Face of Modern War
Women’s Soccer V. New Hampshire
Immigration Discussion
Jazz Ensemble Concert
Thursday 10/19
Baltimore Farmer’s Market and Bazaar
AOK Gallery 4 - 5:30 p.m.
BCPL: Catonsville Branch 7 - 8 p.m.
Coffee and Conversation: Immigration Commons: Lower Flat Tuesdays 7 - 9 p.m.
Third Thursdays
Baltimore Museum of Art Doors 5 p.m. Show 6 p.m. Tickets $10
Wine Down Thursdays
McCormick and Schmick’s 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Friday 10/20 Herbert Run Greenway Tour
Meet at UC 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Retriever Soccer Park 1 - 3 p.m.
PAHB Concert Hall 3 - 5 p.m.
Underneath Jones Fall Expressway 7 a.m. - Noon
Monday 10/23 CSJ: Rise 101 UC 310 Noon - 1 p.m.
Tuesday 10/24 Erikson Field 5 - 6 p.m.
3905 Wilkens Avenue 12:01 a.m.
Wednesday 10/25 Stargazing Night
BCPL: Catonsville Branch 7 - 8 p.m.
Being a Better Ally: Mental Disabilities
Commons: Mosaic Center 2B23 4 - 5 :30 p.m.
Diversity Recruitment Event
UC Ballroom 5 - 8 p.m.
International Tragedies
Commons: Skylight 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Thursday 10/26 Monument Quilt for Survivors
Erikson Field 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Evaluating Job Offers
Disability, Access, and Accommodation at UMBC
Chalking for Change
(seb) Pumpkin Party
Commons 329 Noon - 1 p.m.
Academic Row 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
UC 310 Noon - 1 p.m.
Commons: Sportszone 8 - 9 p.m.
Free Fall Halloween Celebration
American Visionary Art Museum 4 - 7 p.m.